Autozam High School
by Nuwanda
Summary: An alternate reality fic. Our adorable boys and the three gals are now on earth, attending two different high schools. Shonen-ai, eventually, angst, some fun, etc. Eagle/Lantis pairing, eventually.
1. Default Chapter

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A/N: Okay, this is an ALTERNATE REALITY FIC! Meaning that our favorite characters are now all on earth, but everything is basically similar, other than a slightly out of character hissy fit on Eagle's part which will come into play later...some slight Japanese lessons, before we begin...  
  
watashi no kami-sama: oh my God  
kawaii: cute  
hentai: the slang term means pervert.  
sugoi: awesome, wow, cool, etc.  
  
Also:  
are for thoughts  
* * are for italics   
  
Okay, then. Got it? Ready? Let's go!  
  
  
Chapter 1  
  
Eagle strolled casually down the hallway, green backpack slung over one shoulder.   
"Hey, Eagle!" a random passerby yelled, "congratulations on the election, pres!"  
Eagle smiled back in response, the cute little smile that he was so famous for.  
"Thanks!" he called out, and continued on his way. Geo and Zazu came out of the metal shop classroom and fell in step beside him. Geo was laughing loudly at Zazu, whose bright red face offset his sweatdrop nicely.  
"DETENTION!" Zazu hollered, brandishing a pink slip at Eagle.   
"For what?" Eagle asked, taking the slip from Zazu's outraged and shaking hand. "Let's see- `For lewd and unfittingly disgusting behavior during class'?!" Eagle read, a slight hint of humor in his voice as he lifted amused eyes to look at his shorter friend.   
"He was lookin' down the teacher's shirt in class!" Geo howled, practically doubled over laughing. Zazu kicked his much taller friend in the rear. Eagle hid a laugh behind his hand.  
"You were looking down Miss Rachel's shirt?" he asked, one eyebrow arched at the furious Zazu. "Well then, sorry, buddy, but you were asking for it."  
"You don't have to tell *me* that!" snapped Zazu. Miss Rachel was the prettiest teacher in school. She taught metal shop, which seemed funny at first, but the students soon learned that it was not a good idea to push the limits with her. One boy had harassed her the first day she worked there, and quickly regretted it. He was sent to the nurse with a broken arm and a month's detention for sexual harassment. Apparently, he had *really* pushed it, because Miss Rachel was usually very nice about the students flirting with her...she seemed used to it. It seemed, however, that Zazu had just been pushing his luck for too long with her. Despite the fact that they always misbehaved, Geo and Zazu were her favorite students. Zazu usually took advantage of her liking of him to hit on her in access, and she usually just brushed it off. Every once in a while though, she felt it was time to put him in his place. This was obviously one of those times.  
Geo snickered again. "Hentai." he muttered. Zazu glared.  
"Shut up!" he cried. For a few moments, the three friends were silent. Eagle stopped at his locker and worked the combination in. Shoving the door open, he dumped his bookbag on the floor and began rummaging through his locker. Suddenly, Zazu seemed to have a moment of epiphany. "Hey, Eagle! You won the election, didn't you?!" Without waiting for an answer, he began jumping up and down with excitement. "Right on, Eagle! Time for a little celebration..." With a wicked grin, Zazu pulled a thermos bottle out of his backpack and waved it at Eagle.  
"What is that, Zazu?" Eagle said, eyeing it suspiciously. Zazu put on his "innocent" look, something his short stature and wide eyes made so much more affective.  
"What do you *think* it is, Eagle Vision?" he asked, raising his eyebrows up and down, Charlie Chaplin style. Eagle sighed in over-exaggerated exasperation.  
"I don't want any wine right now, thanks Zazu. I think I'll keep my position as president and avoid detention."  
"Whadaya mean, `detention'?!" Zazu demanded. "Who's gonna know?"  
At that moment, Miss Rachel walked by.  
"You looking for another detention, Mr. Torque?" she asked teasingly. The innocent look returned.  
"Whatever for, Miss Rachel?" he asked sweetly, batting his huge brown eyes up at her. She leaned in close to him.  
"For the wine!" she whispered, then stood up again, swatting his head lightly and turning to go. "We'll let it slide this time if you put it away right now!" she called over her shoulder as she walked down the hall. Zazu stared after her, amazed.  
"How'd she know?" His voice was full of astonishment. Eagle just laughed and yanked Zazu's snow cap down over his eyes.   
"She just knows you too well! Now, let's see..." Eagle's voice trailed off as he pulled a piece of paper off of his locker door, where it had been taped. He read it slowly to himself.  
"Well, what is it?" Geo asked. When Eagle didn't respond, Geo made an unintelligible noise of exasperation and grabbed the note.  
"Hey! That's mine!" Eagle cried, jumping after the note. Geo was too much taller, however, and was built like a cadillac. He easily held his shorter, slimmer friend back with one hand as he read the note aloud.  
"Eagle Vision: Please report to the office immediately after your late arrival this morning. There will be a Transfer student waiting for you there. As you are the new class president and the best all-around student we have here, we would very much appreciate it if you could show him around. Thank you." It was signed by their principal. Geo immediately began crowing with laughter. "Ooh, Eagle! You're the best all around student!" Eagle glared balefully at him.  
"Shut up!"  
"Eagle, I..I..." Geo put on an air of worshipfullness. "I just feel so honored to know you! Can I have your autograph?" He broke off, laughing. Zazu spoke up now too, a huge grin on his kawaii face.  
"Yeah, I want one too, Mr. President! Can I have one? CanIcanIcanI?!" Eagle slammed his locker door shut and shouldered his backpack before heading for the office. The whole way down the hall, he could hear the howls of laughter of his friends. He shook his head.  
"Imbeciles," he muttered, but couldn't help grinning.  
  
~end of part one~  
  
A/N: Well? Opinions? I hope they're good! Pleeeeeaaaaase review, I just love getting notes! Heh, am I annoyingly stupid or what? Yeah...don't know if I want you to answer that...and I'm shutting up now... 


	2. First Meeting.

A/N: Lalalal, have to put one of these at the top of every story, just to bother you...just kidding. Anyways, here's the key again:  
are for thoughts  
* * are for italics   
Part two, coming right up!  
  
  
Chapter 2  
  
Eagle stepped into the office and dropped his book bag into the nearest chair. The principal looked up and smiled at him.  
"Good morning Eagle, thanks for coming!"  
"Oh, it was no problem, Mr. Antolini." Eagle smiled the famous smile again.   
"Yes, if you'll just follow me, you can come meet the new student." Eagle followed Mr. Antolini down the hallway. "Right in here, if you please-"  
"Mr. Antolini!" The voice came from behind them. Mr. Antolini and Eagle both paused. It was one of the secretaries. "I'm sorry to bother you sir, but there's a man on the phone, something about a delivery of fifty pizzas...?"  
"Oh, watashi no kami-sama!" Mr. Antolini muttered under his breath. Eagle hid a smile behind his hand. "Well, Eagle, you can just go on in and talk to him by yourself, and I'll be there in a few. Okay?" Eagle nodded, and Mr. Antolini scuttered down the hallway, muttering something about "those damn deviants and their [expletive] pranks." Laughing, Eagle turned and opened the door to the office, stepping inside and shutting the door behind him. Turning around, he put on his usual smile.  
"Hi, I-" he cut off, blinking in astonishment. The student in front of him was like no other person he had seen before. It wasn't even his looks that was so strange...Eagle just couldn't fathom it. He had a way about him, almost a feeling, that was completely different from everyone else Eagle had ever met. He was taller than Eagle by a good foot, but not as built as Geo. In fact, he was rather lanky. His eyes were a brilliant shade of azure blue, and he stared solemnly down at Eagle. Eagle shook it off.  
"I'm Eagle Vision!" he finished, grinning again. The person said nothing. "What's your name?" Eagle finally asked, confused as to why the boy wouldn't talk. Finally, the new student spoke up.  
"Lantis Darkhorse." The voice also gave Eagle a start. Deep and resounding, it sounded like the most beautiful music.  
"Well, I'm supposed to show you around," Eagle continued. "Do you have your schedule?" Lantis handed it over silently. Eagle gave it a quick once over. "Wow! It looks like we have all our classes together! That's strange!" He laughed, a nervous habit. This new student certainly was making him nervous. The laugh seemed to put him slightly more at ease; the ebony-haired boy cracked a small smile. "Well, is there anywhere in particular you'd like to go first, or do you just want to follow the schedule?"  
The boy shrugged. "Just follow the schedule, I guess."   
Eagle smiled. "Okay then! Just let me grab my stuff, and we'll be on our way!" Eagle turned to go, checking once quickly over his shoulder to make sure that Lantis was following. There was something about the guy that he liked...but there was also something strange about him. Strange...and *very* unsettling.  
~*~  
  
A/N: Well, what do you think? Part two is done. I wasn't sure whether or not to end it there, but in light of revelations of what's to come, apparently this would be the best way. Yeah...see, it seems to me that I don't make up my stories, they come to me. That's why I always say "apparently" when I'm telling the story line...yeah...and I'm shutting up now. Thanks to Marcy again, for her idea for Lantis' last name! A whoo and a hoo and a moo! Please review, I LOVE YOU!!! 


	3. Newfound enemy.

A/N: You're still *reading* this?! *jaw drops* Kudos to you! Speaking of which, what the hell does that term mean, anyway? It's always confused me...kudos bars? Lol, or not. I need a life. Why do you think I spend so much time writing this angstfluff fanfiction? (for more information, see my other written works, lol). Yeah, so, I'm shutting up now.  
Once again,   
are for thoughts  
* * are for italics   
Get it? Got it? Good! Part three, here we go!  
  
Chapter 3  
  
Eagle was vexed, and growing more and more tense by the minute. He had shown Lantis around almost the whole school, and there had been a *lot* of conversation...the majority of which came from Eagle himself. He sighed, blowing a gust of air upwards to send his silver-blond hair flying. he thought, without much hope.   
"And this is the gym," Eagle said, attempting to put on a cheerful voice as he led Lantis inside. "This is where we have gym class and where many of the sports teams practice." He turned around and saw Lantis looking at some photos on the wall. They were of the fencing team.  
"Oh yeah, the fencing team practices here." he added, as an afterthought. Lantis straightened up.  
"I'm going to be on the fencing team." he said softly. Eagle looked at him.  
"Really? *I'm* on the team!" Lantis seemed to ignore the second part of what Eagle said.  
"Yes," he continued. "And I intend to become captain." Eagle stared at Lantis for a moment before laughing.  
"That might be a *little* problem," he chuckled. Lantis turned to look at him, blue eyes seeming to bore right through Eagle's head.  
"Oh? Why?" he asked nonchalantly. Eagle stared at him.  
"Because *I'M* the captain!" he said, not realizing at first how loud his voice was until he heard it echo back at him from each corner of the empty gym. Lantis simply stared at him, his eyes hardening and his face taking on an angry mask. He raised his eyebrows at Eagle.  
"You are *now*," he began.   
"No," Eagle cut in, "I'm the captain, and I fully intend to *stay* the captain. And I'd like to see you or anyone else take that position away. You can't be the captain unless you're the best on the team, you know! I dare you to try and beat me!" He stopped, breathless and shocked by what he was saying, but still angry. Lantis glared right back at him.  
"Don't think I can't do it, either!" he responded, raising his voice as well. "I could fence you out of that fencing square any day!"  
"No way!" Eagle cried.   
"Well, you just wait until practice starts!" Lantis shouted back. Eagle glared furiously at the taller boy.  
"This tour is over!" He turned his back on Lantis. "See you in class, *unfortunately*!" With that last comment, he turned to go, leaving Lantis smirking after him.  
~@~  
  
Eagle stormed into study hall, dropping his bag and throwing himself angrily into his seat. Geo and Zazu stopped their game of battlenet immediately.  
"What's up, Eagle?" Geo asked, concern on his face.  
"That stupid transfer student!" Eagle fumed.  
"What happened?" Zazu pushed. Within a few minutes, the whole story had been told. The three friends sat in silence.  
"Whoa, Eagle." Geo said. "You really blew up at that guy, huh?"  
"Hey, leave him alone!" Zazu piped up. "It was that guy's fault! Thinking he can take away Eagle's spot as captain!"  
Eagle smiled. "Thanks for the vote of confidence, Zaz. I just...arg!" He made throttling motions with his hands. "I don't know what happened! I just lost my head, completely!"  
Geo patted his friend's silver-blond hair sympathetically. "We know, you're not all there." Eagle swiped at his hand.   
"Shut up!"  
~@~  
  
Later that night, Eagle had all but forgotten the incident. He was on his way home, pedaling swiftly along on his bike. As he reached his house, he saw a moving van parked in the driveway next door. Peddling into his driveway, he pulled his bike up short and climbed off, wheeling it into the garage. On his way back out, he noticed a box being carried inside.   
The box had markings on the side: Darkhorse. Even as Eagle watched the box being carried inside, he noticed the shadowy figure leaning against his fence.  
"So we meet again, Eagle Vision."   
Eagle glared at the source of the voice. "Leave me alone, Darkhorse!" he retorted. "I've got better things to do with my time than talk to *you*!" With that, Eagle turned his back on Lantis and stormed inside, slamming the door behind him. He left too soon to see the smile on Lantis' face fade away, replaced by a look of infinite sadness.  
~@~  
"I'm home!" Eagle hollered, dropping his bag on the floor and kicking off his shoes. His books tumbled out of his bag, making a mess on the floor, and his shoes went flying, one of them knocking the chandelier askew, the other tipping over the candles on the table. "Whoops." Striding forwards, Eagle tripped on his books, loosing his balance and falling down, landing hard on his ass. "Ow!" His older sister came strolling in, grinning at him broadly.  
"Nice job, space case." she laughed. He glared good-naturedly up at her.  
"Oh, you hush!" he retorted. Laughing, she helped him up.   
"Why so late, little bro?"  
"Oh, just problems." he said quickly. He didn't really feel like going into it. She arched an eyebrow at him in response.  
"Oh..." she began, mimicking him, "what kind of `problems'?" He scowled.  
"To-RI!" he whined, "I really didn't want to get into this!"  
"Well, Ea-GLE!" she mimicked again, laughing, "that's just too bad!" Eagle couldn't help but laugh at that. She could imitate him perfectly. "C'mon...sit down and tell me all about it."  
Eagle soon found himself sitting on the couch with Tori, telling her the whole story.  
"He's planning on taking my spot as captain of the fencing team!" He moaned, leaning back on the couch and propping his feet up in his sister's lap, which earned him another raised eyebrow. "And to make matters *worse*, he's moving in right_next_door!" At this, Tori turned quickly to look at him. "You mean Lantis?" Eagle snapped up again.  
"How do *you* know him?"  
"I was talking to him earlier...he doesn't seem too bad-" Eagle got up, scowling. "Oh, come *on* Eagle! I wasn't taking his side over yours! I was just *saying* that he seemed nice! That's all!" Eagle refused to look at her. "Eagle!" She got up and stood right behind him. "Am I going to have to tickle you?" she whispered evilly, her fingers digging into his sides. Eagle let out a yelp and jumped nearly a foot in the air, leaping out of her reach. Laughing, Tori threw her arms around him, squishing him in a hug.  
"Don't worry about it, Eagle. You're class president. You're the smartest kid in school, and you have so many extracurricular activities...you're helf *insane* with all the after-school crap you do. You're the most popular kid in school......everyone *loves* you. You're the best fencer they've ever had- I mean, you won the state championships! You've got nothing to worry about. He won't beat you. Just calm down."  
Eagle sighed, tightening his hold on his older, but much smaller sister. I only wish I *could*...  
~@~  
  
Next door, emotions were also running high, but in a much different way. Lantis sat in the dark with a single candle lit. All around him on the floor were boxes, some of them still full, others half unpacked. Lantis didn't move; he simply stared down at a picture frame sitting in his hand. The picture showed an older boy who looked just like Lantis, but with longer hair, which was pulled back in a ponytail, and brilliant violet eyes. He had his strong arms wrapped tightly around the waist of a much smaller girl with luxuriant blond waves of hair that hung down to her waist and large green eyes. Both were dressed casually; the girl was giving the peace sign.  
Lantis simply stared at the picture. Hanging out of the box next to him were newspapers, the titles jumping out of the page: "Local Teens Die In Tragic Car Accident" "Terrible Tragedy For High School Students" "Deceased Teens Leave Behind Grieving Brothers"   
he thought. He could remember it vividly. It had only been two weeks ago, when it happened...the day his life changed forever...when Zagato and Emeraude had died. His older brother had been out on a date with his girlfriend, Emeraude. He remembered the way his brother had looked when he left: young, full of life, his hair pulled back in it's usual ponytail, baseball cap on backwards, dressed in his usual khakis and his varsity jacket. Lantis had stood in the doorway as Zagato ran out to his car, turning to wave.   
"See you later, Lantis! Don't wait up for me! You know you've got to be in bed early, little bro!" Lantis had flipped his brother off.  
"Ah, get out of here!" The last words he ever said to his brother. Zagato had merely laughed.  
"Yeah, I love you too!" And that was it. The last words he ever heard his brother say. The last words he ever heard from him. I love you too. Lantis had never gotten to say goodbye to his brother. He had never even thought of the possibility that when Zagato walked out the door that night, he might not return. They were on their way home when a car came out of nowhere, driven by a completely drunk driver. The man hit them head on, killing them both instantly.   
He could remember the day after it happened. He had paced through school in utter shock. Third period, his best friend, Ferio, had cornered him. Ferio was Emeraude's younger brother. He glared at Lantis, his eyes red-rimmed and suspiciously misty,  
"What is it, Ferio?" Lantis asked dully.  
"It's all his fault!" Ferio cried, fists angrily scrubbing at the tears on his cheeks. "It's your stupid brother's fault that my sister died!"  
"Ferio!" Lantis gasped, shocked, but Ferio interrupted him.  
"I've lost my sister, Lantis! And it's all his fault!" Ferio glared. "I don't ever want to see you again!"   
"Ferio-" he began weakly, but Ferio turned and walked away.  
That's why Lantis had left. He immediately began searching for a new house, closer to Autozam High School and farther from Cephiro High. He found one, and it was cheap enough for him to buy. He had transferred shortly after. And here he was. Living next door to a boy who hated him, sitting in the dark with nothing but memories...memories of things that he'd rather forget.  
Miserable, Lantis blew out the candle and stretched out on the floor to sleep; there seemed to be no point in unpacking tonight. He felt like crying, but no tears would come. He was long past the point of tears now. He had used up every tear he had, leaving him empty of everything...everything except the tiny shards of his shattered heart.  
  
~end of part three~  
  
A/N: Aww....poor little Lantis! So morose and angsty! Aww....heh, but it was fun making Eagle whine. Notice his sister's name? "Tori" means bird in Japanese...once again, thank you Marcy! I thought it'd be cute to have Eagle's sister named "bird"...or maybe I'm just messed up...or both. Okay, I'm shutting up now. Tell me if this sucks and I should stop writing it...not that I'll necessarily listen, but hey, we love feedback! *cute little Eagle smile (you know the one I mean!)* 


	4. Battle for captain.

Eagle slowly opened sleepy eyes. His alarm clock was beeping crazily, and he was under the suspicion that it had been for some time. He squinted at it. Nine o'clock. NINE O'CLOCK?! Eagle was out of bed in an instant, desperately searching for his clothes. The minute he jumped up, he tripped over his ice skates and roller blades (which were tangled up together) and fell down. "Shit!" he yelled, as though it would do him some good. Unfortunately, it didn't, and he jumped up again, roughly yanking open the drawer of his dresser and rummaging for pants.  
"What's the hurry, Eagle?" Tori was standing in the doorway, an amused look on her face as her younger brother hopped on one foot in his boxers and wife beater, frantically attempting to pull his athletic pants on (and failing).  
"I'm late for fencing practice!" Eagle responded hurriedly, trying to get his foot loose from a tangle it was creating in his pants leg. "AAAAAH!" The last came as he lost his footing and fell over. Lying on his back in his underwear, his feet tangled in his pants as his sister gave him that amused look again was definitely *not* the way he wanted to start his morning off. Hurriedly, he pulled his pants on and stood up, pausing only to shoulder his fencing bag before dashing out of his room and pounding down the stairs, tripping only slightly on the way down.  
"What time'll you be home?" Tori hollered after him. "Mom'll want to know!"  
"Um, about three of four!" Eagle yelled back. "I'm goin' out with Zazu and Geo after practice!" Eagle yanked the door open with a loud bang and began dashing out, coming back in only momentarily to kiss his sister on the cheek. "Bye!"  
  
~*~  
  
Eagle shoved the door open and dashed into the gym. "Sorry I'm late, guys!" He dropped his bag on the floor and began stretching out.  
"Not a very good thing for a...*captain*...to be...is it?" a soft voice came from behind him. Eagle didn't deign to look up.  
"You got a problem, Darkhorse?" he hissed, plopping to the ground to stretch some more. "Because if you do, by all means, share it. Enlighten us with your brilliance." A shadow fell over Lantis' face again.  
"I don't want you to hate me, Eagle." Lantis said seriously. Eagle looked up abruptly at the use of his first name.  
"Really?" he asked, sarcasm dripping from his voice. "You're making a good show of it, then." Standing, Eagle looked Lantis coolly in the eye for a moment before turning away, shedding his jacket as he went. "Okay, guys, I assume you all met Lantis Darkhorse, and that you're all warmed up, so...you wanna do some footwork drills for a few and then...how about a round robin?" He was grinning as he said it, as if it was a special treat, and it was. The fencing team rarely did round robins, and they were much anticipated. A round robin is where the fencers hold practice fights, two at time, in the fencing square. Whoever gets best two out of three or three out of five (however it works out) is the winner, and another person takes the place of the loser. "Now, we seem to have a slight problem here. Darkhorse here wants to be captain. Unless you guys vote me off and him on right here and now, then the round robin will decide it. Agreed?" There was a general murmur of consent. "So, you guys want me off, or do we go with the round robin?" There was silence.  
"Round robin!" Eagle turned to the source of the voice. It was Zazu, huge grin on his face, as he gave Eagle a covert thumbs up. Eagle couldn't help but grin, a grin that grew even more as others voiced their agreement.  
"All right, then. Let's start."  
~*~  
  
The footwork drills went by quickly, and the fun of the round robin even faster. Eagle watched closely, a great feeling of pride swelling his chest. His team. They had improved so much, and, though he wasn't about to take credit for it, it made him happy to see them doing so well. Before long, it was time for him to face Lantis.   
Slowly, both boys stepped into the square, fencing masks under their arms. They swished their foils through the air in the traditional fencing salute. Their was pure venom on Eagle's face, his eyes were filled with fire. Lantis' face wore a smile that Eagle had thought before to be smugness, now he only saw it as...something sad. Eagle felt the stirrings of discomfort momentarily, then shook it off, pulling on his mask. It wouldn't do to get all sympathetic now, just before a match this important.  
Zazu stepped into the middle of the square. "You have a time limit of fifteen minutes, should you need it," he said, his tone of voice obviously indicating that he highly doubted they would. "Go!" he cried, stepping out of the square.  
Eagle dove forward, advancing with a determination he never had before in practice. He was shocked immediately at the amount of skill Lantis had. he thought. I can beat him!  
The first hit went to Eagle. The second hit was failed, by Lantis, so didn't count, and the third went (successfully) to Lantis. Fourth to Lantis, fifth to Eagle, it went on and on. With twenty-one seconds on the clock, the two boys were tied. Both were breathing heavily, both feeling the heat as much as the pressure. Fifteen seconds on the clock...now ten...nine...eight. Five...four...three...Pushing harder than ever, feeling strength he had never had before, Eagle parried Lantis' attack and repost, hitting Lantis right on target, square in the chest. The light went up, the attack was successful. Eagle had won by a single point. There was a long, heavy pause. Then, Zazu, Geo and the rest of the team began to cheer wildly. Eagle and Lantis saluted, then pulled off their masks. Lantis' face was nearly expressionless, but for a small look of disappointment. Eagle's silver-blond hair was disheveled and damp with sweat; a huge grin split his face. He walked up to Lantis, dropping his mask and pulling off his glove.  
"You fought a good match, Darkhorse," he said, and there was something of a new respect written in his voice and on his face. He extended his hand to shake, and the noise fell to a hush. "What'dya say... want to be co-captains?"  
Lantis stared at Eagle, shocked. Then, a grin spread across his face, and he shook Eagle's hand fervently. "Definitely!" The cheering restarted, but louder than before. Laughing, Eagle picked up his mask and walked over to his bag, shedding his fencing uniform as the crowd dispersed.  
"So, Lantis," he began casually, stripping his sweat-soaked jacket off, "What do you say? You want to call it a truce...be friends...have my baby?" Lantis jumped and looked at Eagle in horror. Eagle cracked up. "I'm just kidding you!" He paused. "Well, about the have-my-baby part, I mean... Not about the friends bit. I meant that." He grinned broadly at Lantis, who returned the smile.   
"Yeah, Eagle. I'd love it."  
"Great!" Eagle shoved his jacket and helmet into his bag and zipped it up, pausing to examine his sweaty state. "Ugh, I reek."   
"Me too, I'm sure." Lantis laughed, struggling with the zipper on the back of his jacket. Eagle stepped over and unzipped it for him. Lantis' eyes widened in shock.   
"Hey, you never know! It could be an anime!" Laughing, Eagle put one arm around Lantis' shoulders, putting on a dramatic voice. "They started out as enemies, and became the best of friends. Learning together, fighting together, stinking together...then again, maybe not." Lantis cracked up laughing. Eagle smiled at him. "What's so funny?" the blond asked, running a hand through his hair and grimacing at the sweaty dampness of it. He wiped his hand on his towel in disgust, then looked back to Lantis. "Do I stink that badly that it's amusing?"   
Lantis shook his head. "No, you're just...funny." Eagle grinned.  
"Well, I'm glad I amuse you. Now, after we get...de-stinkified...you wanna come out to eat with Geo, Zazu and I?"  
"Yeah, I'd love to." Lantis smiled. Eagle kept right on grinning back at him.  
"Great!" With that, Eagle stripped off his wife beater and then promptly pulled down his pants. Lantis stared at him, disturbed.   
"Um, Eagle? What are you *doing*?!" He asked. Eagle laughed.  
"Undressing...?" he responded, as though it should be obvious. He tossed his clothes into his bag, shouldered it, and, tossing a wink at Lantis, ran out into the hall in just his boxers. Black boxers. With flames on them. Standing in the middle of the hallway in his underwear, Eagle was promptly catcalled by half the school. He simply blew kisses, took a few bows, and shoved his head back into the gym. "Come, Lantis! To the showers!" he bellowed, pointing in the direction of the washroom. He began running in that direction, leaving Lantis to chase after him, both of them laughing the whole way.  
  
  
A/N: Well, what do you think? Eagle in nothin' but flame covered boxers...ahhh...*passes out from a nosebleed* Rowr. That's a sight that *I* wouldn't mind seeing! Any day! Okay, shutting up now. Yeah. Thanks to Marcy, once again, just for liking this before she knew that I was the one who wrote it. That was an incredible boost to my self-esteem...yay! Anime party tonight at Marcy's house! Pizza, FFVIII, and bishonen galore! *singing* So let's bring on the men, and let the fun begin, a little touch of sin... Shutting up now...  
  
Thanks also to:  
QUILLOW!!!! For no other reason than she's mah bestest bud and I love her! Not that she even *likes* anime, but...whatever. Evil queen face? Lol! Can't wait for twin day at school! 


	5. In which Eagle is generally annoying and...

A/N: On to part five! Muah! Lol, okay, this is IMPORTANT! THIS IS FOR THE PERSON WHO ASKED WHERE THE MAGIC KNIGHTS WERE:   
  
The girls aren't going to come into the story for a while. As you know, Lantis didn't meet the gals till he went back to Cephiro, or, in the case of *this* story, Cephiro High School. Never fear, the basic outline of the whole story is written out in my head, so he *will* be meeting the girls eventually, and so will Eagle...it'll just be a little while before they get there, 'k? Keep on reading, please! I love you all!  
  
MORE JAPANESE TO LEARN:  
  
KYAA- basically, it means "what the f*ck" (thanks to Marcy and "Please Save My Earth" for *that* little language lesson!)  
  
  
  
"Can we go any slower?!"  
"Will you calm down, Mr. President?!" Zazu demanded as Geo and Lantis laughed. "Some of us don't have as long legs as you do!"  
"It has nothing to do with long legs, Zaz!" Eagle shot back.   
"Sure it does!" Zazu cried indignantly. "Lantis and Geo can't even keep up with you, and they're taller! You just have abnormally long legs!"  
"I do *not*!" Eagle insisted, face turning bright red.  
"Do too!" Zazu retorted, grinning at Eagle's obvious embarrassment. "Look at Geo and Lantis! They're tall, but they're all...I dunno, *built* and stuff! You're definitely not a weakling by *any* means, but you're skinny and gangly! You're all leg!"  
"Well, *thanks* a lot!" Eagle folded his arms across his chest and began to pout.   
"Oh, give it up, Eagle," Geo moaned. "Will you stop bein' such a *pissant*?!" Lantis looked up abruptly, as if shocked by Geo's language, then couldn't help but laugh at both the name and the pout on Eagle's face. "Will you get him to *stop*, Lantis?" Geo continued, pleadingly.  
"Nah," Lantis smiled, The looks cute when he pouts!" Eagle's head shot up in alarm.  
"Whawasthat?!" the blond boy sputtered, shocked. His friends just laughed at him.  
"Come on, Pres, we want lunch!" Zazu whined.  
"I *refuse* to go any farther until I know what was said!" Eagle had his nose in the air in mock snobbery.  
"Well, I *refuse* to repeat it!" Lantis laughed. "You should pay more attention to your surroundings and the goings-on."  
"Okay, *fine* then," Eagle said in a mock hurt/angry tone. "But if I'm expected to continue..." a devious smirk played across his face. "...then I expect a *PIGGYBACK*!" With that out in the open, Eagle jumped suddenly onto Lantis' back, arms wrapping around the ebony-haired boy's neck and legs around his waist.  
"Gack! Eagle!" Lantis choked. "What're you tryin' to *do*, *kill* me?!"  
Eagle grinned. "The thought *had* crossed my mind..."   
"I thought we were *past* the hatred and assassination bit," Lantis shot back, grinning. "I thought we were on to the rampant-copious-hot-monkeysex bit."  
A loud *screeeeech* emanated from the pavement as Zazu and Geo squealed to a surprised halt.   
"KYAA?!?!?!" both boys cried in unison, sweatdropping. Eagle and Lantis cracked up.  
"FINE," Lantis said, looping his hands under Eagle's legs and adjusting the blond boy's position on his back, "you can have your damn piggy-back ride!"  
Eagle smiled smugly. "I *always* get my way!"  
"Yeah, only because you're so damn cute!" Lantis responded. "No one can resist you!"  
Eagle leaned over Lantis' shoulder, head cocked sideways, giving the taller boy an aren't-I-adorable smile that was Eagle's trademark. "Is that a promise?"  
Lantis shook his head, grinning. "Come on, Pres, let's go get our lunch."  
  
  
A/N: Well? *waits expectantly* Notes? Pleasesa? Muah. I want notes. I want to know how this is. Incredibly short, I know, but I think it got the point across. On to the next chapter. Yeah. 


	6. Where the boys have lunch at last, and E...

Flick_flick_flick. Flick. Flick_flick.  
"Stop it!"  
"Stop what?" Eagle asked innocently.  
"You know what I mean!"   
"No, I really don't think I do..."  
Geo sighed in exasperation. "Stop flickin' your damn chocolate milk at me!"  
Eagle grinned deviously. "You don't *want* a chocolate bath?"  
"NO."  
"Awww....I thought it might be kinda fun to lick it off you," Eagle grinned evilly again.   
"Nah, I think I'll pass on the chocolate and tongue bath today, Eagle, *and* the kinky hot sex, but never fear! Darkhorse is here!"  
"What...?" Lantis responded slowly, looking as if he missed out on something.  
"I'm *sure* Lantis would just *love* to get it on with you, Eagle," Geo was grinning maniacally now. Lantis still looked somewhat disturbed for a second, then grinned.  
"Yeah, baby, anytime!"  
"Can I hold you to that one?" Eagle asked, his voice soft and seductive as he smiled enticingly at Lantis.  
Lantis stared at Eagle, shaking his head in disbelief and grinning. "You know, anyone who doesn't know you would actually think you *weren't* a whore."  
"Well, they'd be wrong, then, wouldn't they?" Eagle shot back, returning his friends grin. He paused, stirring his chocolate milk with his straw and staring pensively into the light brown liquid as if counting bubbles. He looked back up at Lantis. "Why?"  
"Why what?" The dark haired boy sounded nonchalant, fingers fidgeting with his paper napkin. He had been attempting for the last hour to fold it into an origami swan. Thus far, the construction had not been successful, and had resulted only in muttered curses. "Fuck," he whispered yet again as another swan fell apart, back to its original form as a crumpled napkin.  
"Why would people who don't know me think that I'm not a whore?"  
There was a long pause. Then, Lantis laughed, breaking the silence. He began practically howling, smacking his hand against the table, completely unaware that he was attracting the attention of half of the restaurant.  
"What?!" Eagle asked, obviously put out. "What's wrong with that question?"  
"WHY?!" Lantis gasped between laughs. "You even have to *ask*?! Have you ever even *looked* in a mirror, Eagle?"  
Eagle fidgeted now, long fingers running through his silver-blond hair self-conciously. "Yeah," he answered, adjusting his t-shirt, "So? What's wrong with me?"  
"Everyone can tell you're not a whore just by *looking* at you! You're too damn cute!"  
Eagle immediately stopped fidgeting, staring into his milk again. When he spoke up, his voice was soft. "Cute...?" he asked timidly, sounding somehow pleasingly surprised.  
"Well..." Lantis scratched the back of his neck akwardly, as if fishing for words. "Yeah," he said finally, nodding. "You're cute. You're just...you've got this look about you that makes one think more of you dressed in a little sailor suit and of pinching your cheeks and saying 'Oh, how kawaii,' more than it makes one think of rampant passionate sex."  
Geo and Zazu cracked up. Eagle looked extremely miffed.  
"Oh, well, thanks a lot!" He folded his arms across his chest. "Humph."   
Lantis smiled at him. "That is, until they get to know you...until they see you fence." He leaned closer to the petite blond, his voice becoming softer. "Until they see you in that wife beater...and I've got to be honest with you here, Eagle: they get a good look at that ass of yours, and you'll be fighting them off with a bat. That is one fine peice of ass."   
"KYAA?!" Eagle's head shot around to face Lantis, a look of shock on his face making him look like the round faced toddler in a sailor suit that Lantis had envisioned. Eagle came face to face with the taller boy, who seemed to be enjoying his joke immensely.  
"Yeah, you heard me," Lantis grinned. "I mean, all the fencing team was telling me what a nice ass you had, but I didn't believe them until I saw it myself."  
"Wha...wha...WHAT?!" Eagle could barely talk, he was so distraught. Geo and Zazu were snickering into their hands. Geo elbowed Zazu in the side, practically knocking his tiny friend over. Zazu responded by punching Geo in the jaw- hard.  
"OW!"  
"You okay?" Lantis asked, only half interested in Geo's pain; he was having too much fun tormenting Eagle.  
"Hey, pay attention to *me*!" Eagle cried, tugging on Lantis' collar. "I wanna know who was telling you I have a nice ass!"  
Lantis feigned memory lapse. "Oh, ya know, it was my first real day there. I doubt I can remember even one name, much less put the names with the faces yet. Sorry buddy." He snickered to himself as Eagle continued to have a panic attack.  
"Watashi no kami-sama! What am I going to do?" Geo and Zazu were arguing about the check furiously. Finally, they both tossed money onto the table and, glaring at each other, got up and began heading for the exit. Lantis added his money to the pile and got up as well. "You GUYS!" Eagle grabbed the check and looked it over briefly, lips moving ever so slightly as he calculated his portion quickly in his head and tossed down the sum, tripping over his long legs as he jumped up to follow his friends. "Hey, wait for me! WHAT AM I GONNA DOOOOOO?!?!?!"   
"Eagle, take it easy!" Geo said, shoving Eagle in what was obviously supposed to be an amiable and reassuring way. It was anything but. Caught off his guard, Eagle went falling forwards, tripping again, and had to grab the first available support. This happened to be Lantis. The co-captain already had his arms out to catch Eagle.  
"Careful there, buddy." Lantis cautioned, laughing at how Eagle was standing. The blond was bent in half, arms clinging to Lantis, half in a crouch with his head against Lantis' chest. He looked up at Lantis with wide eyes.  
"Thanks." Eagle straightened up, brushing himself off. "But I really need your help on this! GUYS!"  
"Well, it's your fault, Mr. Pres," Zazu responded, swinging his thermos of wine back and forth in one hand.  
Eagle stared at him in shock. "HOW IS THIS MY FAULT?!?!?!" Eagle shrilled, obviously not realizing how loud his voice had become.  
"You shouldn't have such a nice ass, obviously!" Zazu responded, grinning. "Now, if you had an *average* ass, everyone wouldn't be talking about it!"   
Eagle seemed to have finally reached his breaking point. Taking a deep breath, he opened his mouth and began to yell. "IT IS NOT MY FAULT THAT I HAVE A SUPREMELY HOT ASS, OKAY?! YOU'RE JUST SAYING IT IS BECAUSE YOU'RE JEALOUS! JEALOUS OF MY (APPARENTLY) PERFECT ASS! NOW LEAVE ME AND MY PERFECT ASS ALONE!!!"   
Silence. Cautiously, Eagle opened his eyes. Zazu, Lantis, and Geo were staring at him in a mixture of disbelief and an obvious desire to laugh hysterically. Eagle turned sloooowly around and came face to face with a restaurant full of people staring straight at him. A boy who couldn't have been more than thirteen laughed, breaking the silence.  
"I..." Eagle began, feeling as if he should explain his behavior, but words failed him. Eagle tried again. "I..." He grinned sheepishly. "Sorry." Eagle turned to go, and the restuarant filled with cheers and applause.  
"Yeah! Nice ass, buddy!" "Whoo!" "Look at that FINE peice of ASS!"  
Eagle managed to walk to the door with surprising dignity. Once outside, he turned and glared at his friends. "Don't say a word," he hissed.  
Zazu grabbed Lantis' sleeve, pulling the taller boy down to Zazu's level. "No one really said anything about his ass, did they?" he asked, voice soft enough so that the panic striken Eagle couldn't hear.  
"Of course not."  
Zazu grinned. This could be some serious fun.  
  
~*~  
  
The next day, the shower room was filled with a sight that would have terrified some, disgusted others, and made many bishonen otakus pass out from nosebleeds. The fencing team had just finished practice, and the shower room was filled with naked guys. There was a tremendous ammount of butt-flicking-with-the-wet-towel type of manuevers going on, and other activites that immature guys like to do.   
Zazu wandered through the shower room, wishing for the five thousandth time that he was taller. His short height put him at an, er, rather unfortunate eye level to most of the guys, due to the fact that his head was only about waist height on most of them. He wanted to close his eyes, but if he did, he'd only wind up walking into someone's groin face-first, and he most assuredly did not want *that*, thank you merrily. Due to his height, he didn't recognize Lantis when he first saw him, because it obviously wasn't Lantis' face that Zazu first saw. He looked up.  
"Oh, hey there, Lantis. Hey," he lowered his voice as Lantis bent over to hear him better. "None of the guys know about our little joke, do they?" Lantis shook his head no, and Zazu rubbed his hands together with wicked glee and an evil laugh. "Oh, this is gonna be soooo great!"  
Eagle chose that moment to make his entrance. Unlike all of the other boys, Eagle had a towel wrapped tightly around his waist, and he was clinging to it for dear life and eyeing the other boys in a mixture of suspicion and fear.  
"What's up, captain?" one of the boys walked up and slapped Eagle amiably on the back. Eagle jerked away, suspicion in his eyes. The boy gave him a funny look. "What's wrong, Eagle? You feelin' okay?"  
Eagle clutched the towel tighter. "Yes...I'm fine."  
"Are you sure?" Another boy walked over, concern written on his face. "You don't look so good. Maybe it's to hot in here for you...we should get you outside."   
"Yeah," another boy chimed in. They reached for Eagle, to help him in case he felt weak, but the captain jumped away.  
"NO!"  
The boys all jumped back, stunned and confused. Eagle laughed nervously, twisting the edges of his towel.   
"Honestly...I'm fine. I'm great!" he forced a half-hearted smile and began edging his way to the door, back against the wall so no one could get a look at his butt. The team eyed him as if he had just jumped out of a cake wearing a thong and given Zazu a lap dance. Eagle pulled the door open and, giving them one last, tight smile, pulled it shut behind him. Lantis, Zazu and Geo burst immediatly into fits of uncontrollable laughter.  
"That...was soooo...fucking....great!" Zazu wheezed, clutching his sides as he laughed.  
"He fell for it!" Geo laughed. "He honestly thinks that we're after his ass!"  
Zazu ran to the door Eagle had just walked out of, sticking his head out it and hollering down the hall after him. "RUN FOR YOUR LIFE, EAGLE! THEY'RE AFTER YOUR PERFECT ASS! IF YOU VALUE YOUR ASS AT ALL, RUN! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, *RUN*!!!"  
There was a loud thudding sound as Eagle took off down the hallway, and the trio collapsed on the floor in fits of laughter. It was a long time before any of them could recover enough to speak, and by then, the locker room was empty except for the three of them.  
"You think we should let him in on it?" Zazu questioned, obviously eager to taunt Eagle for being a complete baka.  
"...Eventually. Let him stew for a while first..."   
"That was fucking hilarious." Geo announced.  
A soft creeeaaaak came from behind them. Eagle poked his head into the room.   
"Are they gone?" he asked fearfully. His friends looked at each other and cracked up again. "What *now*?!" Eagle asked wearily, plopping onto a bench and leaning his elbows on his knees, chin in his hands.   
"You dork!" Zazu laughed. "You fell for it! No one was really after your ass, you...you ass!"  
"What?!" Eagle cried, turning bright pink. Zazu simply continued to laugh, Lantis and Geo joining in. "I...I...I'm gonna KILL YOU!" He dove at Zazu, grabbing him around the neck as if to throttle him but losing his towel in the process.  
"I believe you dropped something," Zazu smirked.  
"AAAAHHHHHHH!"  
  
  
~end of part 6~  
  
A/N: Well, what do you think? A tad longer...the ending of it is kinda weird, but I couldn't figure out how to end it right...I hope that works for you all. Blah...at least I don't have total writers block. Anyway, thank you all for leaving me notes! I appreciate it so much!  
  
Thanks to:  
  
EAGLE! Lol, I know, I'm a dork, but without this gorgeous bishonen, I wouldn't be able to write this...obviously. Lol, I'm just a pathetic Eagle obsessee. Not that I can help it. I mean, he is just unbelievably KAWAII! MUAHAHAHAHA! Okeyday, shutting up now...  
  
And SPECIAL thanks to:  
  
Anne and Marysara, even though that has nothing to do with this fic, just for helping me out with my efforts to FREE TIBET! WHOO HOO MOO!  
  
FREE TIBET!!! 


	7. Return to Cephiro High.

A/N: Okay, on to part 7! Still haven't figured out my formatting, b/c I'm only one level above computer illiterate. GOOD NEWS: THE GIRLS SHOW UP IN THIS ONE (as promised)! MUAH! Same Rules go as before:   
** for italicized,   
// for thoughts.  
are for song lyrics.  
  
bakamono- moron, freak   
  
So, when you see these around the sentance @ the end of the 2nd section of the chapter, it's part of the song they're playing in the car. That goes for now on, too. If there's anything in these it means that it's part of a song. Kapiche? Okay. Let's go!  
  
  
"Fencing match, fencing match, we're going to a fencing match!" Eagle sang under his breath, bouncing up and down in his chair.  
"Mr. Vision, do you have something to share with us?"  
Eagle gulped nervously. "Uhhh, sure, Mr. Gartsky!" he replied cheerfully, putting on his famous smile. "I was just thinking about how excited I am about the fencing match today!"  
The English teacher's face softened. "Well, I hope you do well, Eagle, and I wish you and your team the best of luck,"  
"Thank you!" Eagle smiled sweetly.  
"...but you can't sing in my class." Snickers all around. The laughing wasn't meant to be mean, but Eagle singing in class was an all-to-familiar and amusing disturbance. Eagle grinned sheepishly, raking a hand through his silver-blond hair. "I'll let you off without detention today, simply because I can understand your excitement. Big match, huh?"  
"Yes sir!" Eagle beamed. "Cephiro High School, sir!"  
"Ah, yes. Think you can take them?"  
Eagle sat up a little straighter in his chair. "Nothing Lantis' and my guys can't handle, sir!"  
Mr. Gartsky laughed. "I'm sure you're right. Now, back to our novel...as I was *saying* before our little diva's impromptu performance..."  
Eagle blushed, the tips of his ears turning red as the class laughed again.  
"...in what way does Hester Prynne's hair symbolize her spirit? Anyone?"  
Eagle sighed and slumped down into his desk again. Boring, boring, boring!   
  
~*~  
  
When the bell rang, Eagle practically flew out of the room, only pausing to grab his equipment before rushing to the back parking lot. He threw his bag into the trunk of his car and jumped over the side into the driver's seat, long legs hurdling the obstacle easily. Reving the car, he popped his favorite mix cd into the cd player and floored the car to the front parking lot, pulling up to the front entrance where Lantis, Geo, and Zazu were approaching.  
"Whoa! Nice ride, Eagle!" Lantis said in admiration. Eagle grinned.   
"I know. Thanks daddy, right?"  
Lantis' jaw just about hit the floor. "Your dad *bought* that for you?!"  
"Yeah," Eagle replied, blushing slightly. "Birthday/congrats class president sort of gift. I know, I know, it's a bit...much."  
"*I'll* say!" Lantis' eyes roved over it. The car was the newest Rayearth convertible, all shiny silver and sleek as a cat. Eagle fidgeted, obviously embarassed.  
"He spoils me rotten," Eagle muttered, fiddling with his keys, his cd player, almost anything so as not to make eye contact with Lantis. The taller boy smiled at his blond friend.  
"Hey, don't worry about it! At least you're not a spoiled *brat*!" Lantis said, prodding Eagle's shoulder. Eagle looked up, smiling hopefully at Lantis.  
"You don't think so?"  
"Hell no! You're not anything like *most* rich kids I've met..."   
Eagle smiled. "Thanks," he said softly. "That means a lot to me." Lantis returned the smile.  
"Watashi no kami-SAMA!" Zazu moaned. "They're getting all mushy and pathetic again!"  
Lantis looked at Zazu, confused. "Mushy...?" he began.  
"Hey, hey, hey! C'mon! Let's go!" Eagle smacked his hand against the side of his car, interrupting Lantis' thoughts. "Get your scrawny asses in the car!"  
Geo arched an eyebrow at Eagle. "If anyone here has a scrawny ass," he deadpanned, "it's *you*, Eagle."  
Eagle grinned winningly. "No," he replied, "my ass is PERFECT, remember? Now get in the car!"  
Lantis raised two fingers. "Shotgun!" he announced, and jumped in.  
"No fair!" Geo cried immediately! "I ALWAYS have shotgun in Eagle's car!"  
"Yeah, well, now it's my turn, then!"  
"What about me?!" Zazu cried. "Don't I get a turn?"  
"NO!" both Lantis and Geo shouted. Zazu pretended to be hurt.  
"Spurned." he responded morosely, and climbed in the backseat, muttering about how he was *so* put upon, just because he was the smallest and the most kawaii, how he *needed* to be up front because with all these taller guys in front of him, how was he supposed to see? And how-  
"Shuttup, Zazu!" Geo swatted Zazu lightly.  
"*YOU* shut up, ya big galoot! Just because you're built like a fucking cadillac while I'm so unbelievably kawaii is no reason for you to abuse me!"  
" 'Big GALOOT?!?!?!' "  
Eagle grinned at Lantis as his other two friends argued furiously in the back set.  
"You ready for this?" he asked. Lantis cocked his head at Eagle.  
"Ready for what?" he asked curiously. His blond friend looked incredulous.  
"Haven't you ever seen Top Gun?!" Eagle demanded. Lantis nodded his head yes slowly, and Eagle's grin grew devious.  
"I feel the need...for speed," he quoted, a smirk in his voice and on his face. Lantis' eyes grew big.  
"Eagle...you *wouldn't*...not *here*..." Before Lantis had finished his sentance, Eagle had floored the car out of the parking lot.  
"Eagle! SLOW DOWN!" Lantis shouted. Eagle only laughed and turned up the volume, the song blaring as they tore down the road, wind whipping through their hair.  
  
  
~*~  
  
Eagle turned into the parking lot of Cephiro High at 75 mph, music blaring, tires screeching as he did a kamikaze turn around the sharp corner. Students turned and stared in jealous appreciation of the car as it passed. Eagle pulled into a parking place at top speed, the car lurching to a halt and the music stopping. He turned and grinned at Lantis.  
"Have a fun ride?" he inquired. Lantis was staring into spaced, mouth hanging open in shock, ebony hair wild and tangled from the wind. Eagle laughed at him. Geo leaned forward and patted Lantis sympathetically on the shoulder.  
"Don't worry, you'll get used to driving with him," he said reassuringly. Eagle started, ruffled.  
"And just *what*, may I ask, is wrong with my driving?!" he demanded indignantly. Geo laughed.  
"You have to *ask*? Just look at poor Darkhorse!" It was true, Lantis was still comatose. Eagle seemed to be fishing for words.  
"Yeah?! Well...well...I'm a *good* driver!" he insisted.  
"Sure." Geo gave Lantis a not-so-gentle shove, stirring the dark-haired boy out of his reverie. "Wake-up time, Lantis. Time to go kick some ass!"  
Lantis fish-mouthed for a moment.  
"You okay, Lantis?" Zazu asked, grinning. Lantis finally managed to choke out some words.  
"Very...very...fast." he gasped. Geo and Zazu cracked up. Eagle scowled at them.  
"It's not funny! *Fine*, you bunch of bakamonos can be late to the match. *I'm* going in early, and I'm gonna kick some serious ass." Eagle put the top up on the convertible and got out, and grabbing his bag. The others soon followed him, but Lantis stopped short, fencing bag over one shoulder.  
//Been so long...// he thought, staring up at the familiar letters over the entrance: *Cephiro High School* //I wonder if Ferio'll be there...?// Lantis shook his head. He wasn't sure whether or not he wanted to see his old best friend.  
"Hey, Darkhorse!"   
Lantis stirred at the voice, turning to where Zazu stood, hands cupped around his mouth as he hollered for Lantis' attention.  
"You comin' or what?"  
"Yeah," Lantis called back. Satisfied, Zazu entered the gymnasium. "Yeah," Lantis repeated softly, "I'm coming."  
  
~*~   
  
"You ready for this?"  
Eagle looked up at the source of the voice. Geo was standing over him.  
"Yeah," Eagle said, a bit breathlessly, as he finished off his pushups. Golden-brown eyes flickered up to look at the taller boy. "You sound troubled. What's up?"  
Geo sank down to a crouch next to Eagle. "It's Lantis."  
"What about him?" Eagle finished his last pushup and plopped into a straddle position next to Geo, stretching from side to side.  
"I'm not quite sure," Geo said, shaking his head in frustration. "I can just tell something's wrong. He's still kinda in a trance. He keeps looking around as if he knows the place, like there's something here that he remembers, but doesn't really want to. He *knows* this place though, I can tell you that much."  
"Well, he *did* just transfer here this year," Eagle responded. "Who knows? Maybe this is where he came from."  
"Yeah, that's probably it. But I wish you would talk to him, Eagle. *Something* is wrong."  
Eagle smiled. "Okay. I'll talk to him." He stood to go, ruffling up Geos constantly messy hair.  
"Hey!" Geo swatted at Eagle's hand.  
Eagle walked over to where Lantis was standing, staring off at the clock on the wall of the locker room.  
"Hey, you okay?" he asked, putting his hand on Lantis' shoulder. The taller boy jumped, startled, then tried to laugh it off.  
"Of course! Why wouldn't I be?" he responded, his tone flat.  
"I don't know...it just seemed like something was wrong. I won't push you," Eagle said softly. "I just want you to know that, if you need someone to talk to, I'm here for you. We all are."  
Lantis smiled. "Thanks-" he began, but was interrupted by the opposing team entering the locker room. Leading them in was that head of crazy green hair that he was so used to: Ferio ___. Almost immdiately, their eyes met. Lantis swallowed hard against the lump forming in his throat.  
"Hey, Ferio," he said softly. "Hi Lafarga...Ascot...Clef."  
The familiar faces stared back at him. Ferio was in front, staring at him, not a hint of expression giving away any thought he was having. Lafarga stood behind him, glaring openly at Lantis, long blond hair pulled back in it's usual ponytail. He was much taller than Ferio, taller even than Geo. Ascot flanked Lafarga, looking nervous, as if he didn't know how to react to Lantis' return, long brown hair covering his eyes, as always. Clef was just next to Ferio, silvery blueish hair still a decently short length, he himself the shortest in the room by at least a good three inches tinier than the petit Zazu. Ever the peacemaker, he was smiling happily at his old friend, thrilled to see Lantis back.  
"Hi, Lantis!" he beamed. Lantis couldn't help but smile.   
"Hey, Clef," he said. "These are some new friends of mine. Eagle," Eagle waved, smiling a cute (if rather confused) little smile, "Geo," Geo gave a very brief acknowledgement, "and Zazu. Guys, this is Clef." Unlike Geo, Zazu was not at all reserved when it came to introductions.  
"Hi, Clef!" he grinned broadly. "I'm Zazu. Zazu Torque! It's really nice to meet you, if you're Lantis' friend. Even if you're not his friend. I like meeting people. And you have immensely fun kinda blueish sorta silvery hair. *Wow*, you're even shorter than *I* am. That's pretty strange, because I'm *really* short. *Say*, do you have problems in the locker room *too*? Nasty views of guys, er, um, *private* areas? Because *I'm* always-"  
Geo lightly smacked the back of Zazus head in a none-too-subtle-way.  
"Ow!"  
Clef laughed. "It's nice to meet you too, Zazu. Guys, it's nice to see Lantis again and meet these cool peeps, isn't it?" he prodded.   
"Heh, yeah!" Ascot laughed nervously, looking up at Lafarga to see his reaction. Lafarga glowered down at him, and Ascot shrank under his glare.  
"LAFARGA!" Surprisingly enough, Lafarga seemed to shrink a little under the disapproval in Clefs voice, despite the fact that he could easily tear Clefs head off at any given moment. Clef turned to Ferio now. "Isn't it nice to see Lantis, Ferio?" he asked, an obvious say-something-before-I-kill-you sort of tone in his voice. Lantis stared at Ferio, anxious hope in his eyes. Ferio smiled slightly, but sincerely.  
"Yeah," he said softly, eyes looking right into Lantis'. "It's really nice to see you Lantis. Sincerely." The tension in the room seemed to go down a few notches, but before anyone could speak another word, the buzzer sounded for the tournament to begin. Lantis smiled at Ferio. It had been enough. They would talk later.  
"Alright, then!" Eagle said, clapping his hands together. "You ready to go out there now?" There was a resounding cheer from his team as the Cephiro team watched this gangly blond curiously. "Al-RIIIIIGHT!" Eagle pumped the air with one fist. "Then let's go out there and kick some serious boo-*TAY*!" Turning to run out the door, Eagle tripped over thin air and fell down, turning half of a somersault and landing flat on his back. "Owies."  
Grinning, Lantis crouched down and leaned over him as the members of both teams howled with laughter. "You know, Eagle, for someone as graceful at fencing and rollar blading and every other sport imaginable as you are, I cannot understand how you are so DAMN CLUMSY!"  
Eagle grinned up at him. "Years of practice."  
Lantis simply shook his head. "I despair, I really do." Standing, he bent over and offered his hand to Eagle. "C'mon." He yanked the captain to his feet. "Now, take your own advice and go kick some ass."  
Eagle grinned and saluted. "Yes, sir!"  
  
~*~  
  
Eagle tapped his foot boredly on the floor. They had gotten through the preliminary matches already, and were just starting the finals. The preliminaries were strictly same-sex competitions, to choose only the best of the boys and girls to compete against each other. The finals were basically the same as a round robin, but they were longer. In the finals, you could compete against a member of the same sex or of the opposite, it didn't matter. The whole thing took *waaaaaay* too long in Eagles opinion. Zazu passed by Eagle, carting his thermos.  
"Oh, *no* you don't!" Eagle grabbed the thermos from Zazus fingers.  
"Hey! Give it back! It's mine!" Poor, short little Zazu leaped up and down, desperately trying to reach it.  
"Uh uh. There's no way we're getting disqualified because *you* felt like getting drunk!" Eagle stormed into the bathroom and began pouring the wine down the sink.  
"NOOOOO!" Zazu wailed. Eagle rinsed out the now empty thermos and thrust it back into Zazu's hands.   
"Here." Zazu sulked still. Eagle sighed impatiently. "I'll buy you some more wine later. *Good* wine."   
Zazus eyes lit up. "*REALLY*?!?!"  
Eagle swallowed hard, wondering what he was getting himself into. "H-hai. Hai. Later."  
The loudspeaker blared up. "Eagle Vision of Autozam, Umi Ryuzaki of Cephiro, square 1 in two minutes and counting." Eagle grabbed his helmet and foil.  
"Gotta go, Zaz. See you later!"  
"Good luck!"  
Eagle reached the fencing square in record time, too oblivious to realize that his was the last match of the night. He tripped slightly and nearly fell into the referee. Straightening up amid titters from the crowd, he smiled in embarassment at the ref, feeling the tips of his ears turning pink. "Sorry, sir."  
The ref smiled back. "No problem. I take it you're Eagle Vision. Your reputation preceeds you."  
"Thanks!"  
"Take your position."   
Eagle stepped into the square and finally got a good look at his opponent for the first time. It was a girl, tall and slender, long blue hair pulled back in a ponytail. She stared back at him with wide blue eyes, unsmiling.   
"Salute then, and on start on my whistle."  
Eagle stared back at the girl, and raised his foil. She did the same, and they swooshed the blades through the air in salute and pulled their masks on. The ref stepped backwards out of the square, blowing the whistle. Eagle dove forwards immediately, taking the attack, and the girl had no choice but to retreat. Eagle began sizing her up. Good footwork, she wasn't likely to trip. She had a sort of natural grace to her movements, she worked her foil with ease. It would be a hard match. The girl easily parried his first thrust and struck him right on target in the shoulder, thereby forcing him to take the defensive position. He would much rather attack any day.  
As with Lantis, the match was difficult. Eagle found himself sweating soon after beginning, as much from exertion as from anxiety. He didn't want to lose to this girl. He wanted to make it to finals. Soon, he lost count of how many hits each of them had and merely concentrated on hitting her.   
Eagle advanced again, thrusting the blade swiftly, outmanuevering her parry and diving towards her. He felt the tip of his foil connect with her shoulder and heard the buzzer sound for the end of the match. Apparently he had won. Pulling off his mask, he stuck his foil under his left arm and offered the girl his hand. "Nice match."  
She pulled off her helmet, blue hair tumbling loose. "You too." She shook his hand, but Eagle could tell that she wasn't pleased. He didn't know why. She could still make it to finals, if she beat her next opponent.  
The loudspeaker blared up again. "The winners of the tournament are...."  
//Winners?!//  
"in third place, Lantis Darkhorse of Autozam. In second place, Umi Ryuzaki of Cephiro. In first place, Eagle Vision of Autozam."  
Eagle sat stunned as his team cheered for him and Lantis. //I won?! I didn't even know it was *finals*!!!//  
"Nice job, Eagle!" Lantis called, jogging over. Eagle shook out of his reverie, grinning.   
"You too!"  
"Hey, Mr. President!" Zazu tugged at Eagles sleeve. "We're all gonna go out to celebrate, okay? We're gonna treat you and Lantis. You guys were great!"  
Eage looked at Lantis. "Okay. We'll be there in a few. Can you and Geo catch a lift with the others? Lantis and I 'll be there in a few."  
Zazu looked at Eagle with understanding in his huge eyes. "Sure, Eagle. Catch you later!" The short boy ran off to join his friends. Lantis turned to Eagle.  
"Why'd you do that, Eagle?"  
Eagle smiled. "I thought you'd like to talk to your friends for a few."   
Lantis grinned. "You thought right. Thanks, Eagle!" Lantis turned to go and then looked back. "You want to come meet them?"  
"Sure!"  
  
~*~  
  
"It's not fair!" Umi bitched. "I'm *so* much better than that guy!"  
"Heh, yeah, but *Umi*," Hikaru laughed nervously, "he *did* beat you fair and square!"  
"I believe that Umi is just upset," said Fuu , stating the obvious, as usual.  
"Nice call, Fuu." Ferio teased, slipping an arm against his girlfriends slim waist.  
"You shut up!" she admonished, swatting him lightly.  
"Hey, here comes Lantis!" Ascot interrupted, pointing their friend out. .   
"And that guy who beat me is with him!" Umi scowled. Lantis and Eagle jogged over.  
"Hey, guys!" Lantis said, smiling nervously. "What's up? You guys were all great."  
"You too!" Ascot said, smiling. Even Lafarga seemed a bit more at ease now. Eagle smiled at Umi.  
"You were amazing!" he exclaimed. Umi stared sullenly at the floor until Hikaru and Fuu both elbowed her in the side.  
"OW! Yeah, thanks, you were too," she said grudgingly. He laughed.  
"Thank you! My name is Eagle Vision. You're Umi Ryuzaki, I know that much. Now, who are these two other lovely ladies?"  
"I am Fuu Houjii," Fuu answered, blushing. Ferio tightened his arm protectively around her waist.  
"I'm Hikaru Shidou!" Hikaru spoke up, grinning broadly. Eagle grinned back at her.  
"Nice to meet you both! Do you fence too?"  
"Yeah!" Hikaru answered cheerfully.   
"Well, Hikaru and Umi are much better than I am," Fuu cut in. "I just do it because they drag me along."  
Meanwhile, Lantis got up the urge to speak to Ferio. "You were great out there today, Ferio."  
"You too." Ferio replied, smiling. "You've improved."  
"Well, it's all due to this guy," Lantis smacked Eagle on the back, practically knocking the slim blonde over. Ferio looked at Eagle with one eyebrow raised.  
"You're a great fencer," he said to Eagle, who had regained his balance and was mock-glaring at Lantis, "but you're the clumsiest person I've ever met!"  
Eagle laughed. "Arigatou!"  
"Well, you certainly improved Lantis' fencing." Ferio turned to Lantis. "I..." he bit his lip, obviously finding it hard to say. "I want to apologize. For how I acted before. That was oboxious of me, and I shouldn't have done it. It wasn't....it wasn't Zagatos fault. I-"  
"It's okay," Lantis interrupted, face flushing. "You don't have to-"  
"-but I want to," Ferio cut in stubbornly. "I was a jerk. It wasn't Zagatos fault. I knew it then, but I didn't want to admit it, because it hurt too much. I shouldn't have taken my pain out on you. I'm sorry."   
Eagle looked at Lantis, confused. Lantis deliberately avoided looking at Eagle, and the floor suddenly became veeeeery interesting. "It's okay, Ferio." he muttered.  
"Good. Because I missed you." Ferio hugged his friend suddenly. When he pulled away, he smiled at Lantis, who forced a weak smile back. "C'mon, you have to meet my girl." Ferio gently pulled Fuu forwards. "This is Fuu."  
"It's nice to meet you, Fuu," Lantis said. "What're you doing with a loser like Ferio?"  
"HEY!" Ferio cried indignantly. Fuu simply laughed.   
"I don't think I know these two, either," Lantis continued, looking at Umi and Hikaru.  
"Umi Ryuzaki and Hikaru Shidou," Ferio said. "They came here shortly after you left. Fuu, Hikaru, and Umi all went to Tokyo High, before it closed down."  
"Nice to meet you both."  
"It's nice to meet you, too!" Hikaru beamed.  
"Well, I'd really love to talk more, but Eagle and I have a little party to go to," Lantis said.  
"Par-TAY!" Eagle cheered. Lafarga, Ascot, and Ferio all stared at him. Sweatdrop. Clef and Hikaru laughed.  
"We won't keep you, then," Clef said. "Go have fun! Just come back and see us again soon!'  
"No problems there!"  
"Bye!"  
Eagle turned to go and nearly tripped over a little girl standing in front of him.  
"Hey, there!" he said, crouching down to look the girl in the eye. "What're *you* doing here?"  
The girl stared back at him with wide eyes. Her black hair was pulled up on her head in two giant poofs and wrapped in pearl-covered hair ties. She was wearing an extremely fancy dress that didn't seem to quite fit in at the fencing tournament, and clutching a piece of paper in her hand.  
"I watched you today," she said, tiny high pitched voice. "You were amazing!"   
Eagle smiled at her. "Thank you!"  
"I wanted to see 'f I could have your aut'graph."  
"Of course!" Eagle took the paper from her and pulled out a pen. //Little kids are so cute...//   
"I'm going to be the champion someday," continued proudly.   
"Where do you come from?" Eagle asked. What's your name?"   
"From Fahren. My name is Aska."  
  
~*~  
  
A/N: Well? What do you think? This one was longer....the girls were introduced. Heh...I like the Aska thing. Just thought I'd put it in...not that it will have anything to do w/ the rest of this fic. Just thought I'd use it. QUESTION: I NEED INPUT ON THIS. WHO WOULD YOU RATHER SEE SET UP, Umi+Clef or Umi+Ascot? I need to know your thoughts, b/c I'm not sure about this.  
  
DISCLAIMER: (I keep forgetting to put this thing in)  
  
MKR belongs to CLAMP.  
my Top Gun quote belongs to whoever made Top Gun. ; )  
  
THANKS TO:  
  
Marcy- for continuing to like my story. 


	8. Secrets told.

A/N: AAAHHH! Part 8 already?! How did *this* happen?! I could barely even manage to write a single story before! Gah! Insanity! Okay, calming down now. Everything is peachy. On to the story!  
  
Eagle and Lantis walked silently to the car, the blond glancing at his taller friend occasionally. Eagle could tell that something was wrong with Lantis, but he didn't want to press him for answers. He started the car as Lantis threw the bags in the back and then joined Eagle in the car. Eagle left the parking lot at a much slower pace than he had driven before. He glanced at Lantis. The dark haired boy was staring into space, azure eyes filled with a troubled look. //He looks so sad...//  
"Lantis?"  
The dark haired boy stirred abruptly at the sound of his name. "Yeah, Eagle?"   
"Is there anything you want to talk about? You seem upset." Eagle said carefully.  
Lantis avoided his friend's eyes.  
"I don't want to push you," Eagle continued gently, "But you really seem to be hurting. After you spoke with that boy- Ferio? Is that his name?- you just seemed so upset. I just want you to know that if you want to talk...I'm here for you. That's all."  
Both boys sat in silence. Then, Lantis spoke up. "I-" he began, and stopped, shaking his head. "You want to pull over?"  
"Sure." Eagle steered the car onto a private side road and pulled over. Lantis seemed unsure of how to start again.  
"I..." he shook his head, unable to think of a way to say it, and ended up blurting it all out at once. "My brother's dead."  
Eagle started, shocked. "What?!"   
Lantis pushed on, looking like if he didn't get it all out now, he wouldn't be able to later. "Before I came here- I mean, to Autozam- I went to Cephiro High. Ferio was my best friend. His older sister Emeraude was dating my brother....Zagato. They went out on a date one night- Zagato was driving. This guy hit them," he said all in a rush, voice husky and slightly choked as if with pain. "He was completely drunk...the accident wasn't their fault at all. It hit from the drivers side. They couldn't have done anything for them, they said. Emeraude probably wouldn't have died at all, but-" he broke off, blinking back tears. Eagle stared at his friend, shocked and horrified that Lantis had been holding all this in for so long. "-the force of the other car hitting them sent Zagato's car flying into a tree, and Emeraude was killed by the impact of it. When they found them..." Lantis choked again, tears forcing their way past the reserve he was trying so hard to keep, and he brushed them back angrily. "They had managed to reach each other. They were holding hands, in their last moments. They took the to the hospital, tried to save them...they couldn't do a thing. I got there in time to see him...before he died. Emeraude was gone already. Zagato held on to see me...he clung to me like I used to hold tight to him when I had nightmares as a child. He whispered my name...told me he loved me..." Lantis broke off, brushing tears away, unable to speak. After a moment, he shook himself, continuing. "In school the next day, Ferio cornered me. He was hysterical, crying, carrying on. He told me it was all Zagato's fault that his sister was dead. I knew it wasn't...*hell*, even *he* knew it wasn't. *Everyone* knew it. He was just trying to cover up his pain with anger, and he directed that anger at me. Said he never wanted to see me again. I couldn't take it...I left the school and moved to Autozam to attend school with you guys. I thought that I could escape them all...escape the pain. It worked, for a while..." he smiled weakly, "I met *you*, Eagle. You made my life such a wonderful adventure again. You, Geo, Zazu- you made life fun once more. When I was with you, I could pretend that I'd forgotten all about Zagato, and Emeraude, and Ferio- about everyone!" He looked down at his hands where they were resting in his lap. "I should have known it couldn't last."  
"Oh, *Lantis*!" Eagle leaned across the seat and threw his arms around Lantis, hugging him close.  
"Eagle!" Lantis was shocked, looking down at his friend's blond head.  
"I'm so *sorry*, Lantis! I shouldn't have asked! Gomen nasei!"  
"No, it's fine. I've been wanting to tell you, it's just.... so many bad memories." Fresh new tears streamed down his face. Eagle hugged him closer.  
"Lantis..." he whispered helplessly. "I wish there was something I could do to help, some way I could make you feel better." He rubbed Lantis' back sympathetically, soothingly. Lantis blinked back tears suddenly. He couldn't say it to Eagle, but it felt so good to just be *touched* again, to be hugged and cared for...to be *loved*. With his parents long dead, Zagato had been the only one to ever love him or hug him. He had missed the gently loving embrace for so long. Lantis turned his head ever so slightly to look at Eagle. Eagle stared back into Lantis' azure eyes, his own wide brown eyes looking more than ever like two giant pools of deep golden-brown. He gave Lantis a slight smile, reassurance written in his eyes and on his face. Lantis looked at Eagle, and leaned into him, and let himself be held.  
"It's alright, Lantis," Eagle whispered into his ear, one hand carding through Lantis' ebony hair. "Everything will be alright."  
And somehow, Lantis believed him. Because sitting there, being held like that, he simply knew that as long as he had Eagle...as long as Eagle was there to hold him....to support him....to *love* him....everything would be okay. He smiled into Eagles shoulder even as the tears continued to fall. //So nice to have such a friend again...// And for now, it was enough to just be held.  
  
  
~fin~  
  
  
A/N: AHHHHHH! TOO DAMN SHORT! I UNDERSTAND! I'M SO SORRY! GOMEN NASEI! *beats herself with a dry noodle instead of a wet one and it shatters all over her head* Yummy...pasta! Okay, attempting to end the insanity now. Sorry it's so short...gomen. I'm having writers block right now...I know what's going to happen much later in the story, but I just had prom, so I'm running on like, 5 hours of sleep, and I have NO CLUE WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHH! *munches insanely on the crunchy, uncooked pasta and then rams her head into her computer, knocking herself out and making writing any more of the story impossible* Heheh...I wish I had an excuse as good. Anyways, unless more people vote and differently, it looks like it's going to be Umi/Ascot. Okay? Please, don't flame me for whatever choice I end up making...I asked for voters, and I'll choose what gets the most...as long as I can think up good material for it. ;) Yeeah.....so, if you don't like my pairing, don't whine. It's *your* fault for not voting, or for not threatening enough of your friends into voting for your choice. Okay, shutting up now, before I offend one of you, especially since you're all such wonderful readers and you leave me such nice notes and put up w/ my insanity. I LOVE YOOOOOUUUU! Shutting up now...*puts the Shrek Burger King crown on her head and does indeed shut up* 


	9. Friendships and jealousy: In which Lafa...

A/N: *tearing her hair out* AHHHHH! Should be studying, but I'm typing fanfic instead! Actually, this has been done since finals last year, but my comp was being demented and wouldn't let me post. Honest! Gomen nasei! *bows frantically and repetatively* GOMEN NASEI! *Ahem* Should be studying my math, since I'm stupid at math, but I'll do that all day tomorrow. Honest! Okay, anyway, let's hope this works out....here it comes!  
Once again, // are for thoughts.  
  
Lantis stared into space, mouth slightly open and eyes wide. Lost in thought, he was blanked out completely. He couldn't help but review the events of the past few days. So many things had happened...the fencing match, most importantly. Seeing Ferio and the others again had been enough to put him in a daze for a long time, without even throwing Eagle or those new girls into the mix. //Eagle...// Lantis felt a slight burning sensation as a blush crept up his face once again. The memory of Eagle holding Lantis in his arms kept playing through the ebony-haired boys head. He shook it off, shaking his head as if to refuse that it happened at all, but he couldn't make the blush go away. Then, another thought pushed its way in: Hikaru. That skinny little red-haired girl at the fencing match. The memory of her smiling face kept forcing itself into his mind, though he couldn't figure out why. Lantis tried to pushed that one out of his head, but then the thought of Eagle tried to force its way back in. //No!// He pushed all thoughts of Eagle back out. "Okay, concentrate on Hikaru. Hikaru." //Hikaru...//  
  
~*~  
  
Eagle opened his eyes blearily, attempted to focus on his alarm clock, and failed. He tried again, squinting his eyes. "Oh," he said aloud. "7:02." Eagle rolled over and wrapped his arms around his pillow, curling up into a little ball to go back to sleep. "SEVEN O TWO?!?!?!?!" Eagle threw himself out of bed, promptly tripping over his bookbag. He tried to avoid falling and succeeding only in stepping on his cat's tail. The aforementioned cat let out a hissing shriek that was loud enough to wake the dead. Eagle whirled around. "Oh, sorry, Kage!" he cried out as he turned, stepping backwards and tripping over his fencing bag. Grabbing frantically for something to prevent the inevitable fall, he managed to grab on to the curtains, still falling over and tearing them down with him, accompanied by a loud riiiiiiiiiiiiiiip as they rent in two. Eagle sat on the floor, long legs stretched out in front of him as he stared at the mess he created. "Oh. Shit." Quickly, he scrambled to his feet (nearly falling again) and pulled on the first pair of pants he yanked out of his drawer. Pulling open the drawer he kept his shirts in, he slowly realized that laundry day had been Saturday, and he had missed it. "SHIT!" Eagle bolted into his sister's room and tore open her drawer. She borrowed his shirts often enough, he was sure there would be one in there.  
"Eagle, what are you doing?" Tori was still in bed, but was half sitting up and looking at him with unfocussed eyes.  
"I need a shirt, Tori! You've got to have one of mine in here!" he said frantically, rummaging through her drawers.  
"Yeah, I think one of your black t-shirts is in there." With that, Tori flopped back onto the bed. Eagle dug through the t-shirts. //Success!// Pulling the black shirt out of the drawer, he turned and pounded down the stairs, calling thanks to his sister over his shoulder as he went. He bolted out the door, shirt in tow as he jumped into his car. //Shoot, no wife-beater either. Now I have to show up at school half-naked!// Gunning the car out of the driveway, Eagle's last thought was that he hoped Lantis at least would appreciate the show. //The sad thing is, I'm only half kidding about that!//  
  
~*~  
  
Lantis, Geo, and Zazu were clustered outside the school building. Lantis checked his watch impatiently.  
"Dammit! He's got a total of two minutes before he's offically late, and I'm going to class."  
Geo grinned. "He's been later. Take it easy, he'll be here. Probably driving dangerously."  
"As usual," Lantis agreed, sighing in exasperation.   
"And he'll have forgotten something," Zazu added.  
"As usual," both Geo and Zazu chimed in together. At that moment, Eagle tore into the parking lot, nearly taking out the stop sign (which he ignored completely) and three students.   
"And heeeeeeeere's Eagle." Zazu grinned as he watched Eagle do a kamikaze turn into his usual parking space, yet ending up perfectly parked on his first try. As Eagle climbed out of his car, it became instantly obvious what he had forgotten: his shirt.  
"EAGLE!" Zazu hollered, "PUT SOME CLOTHES ON! FOR THE LOVE OF *GOD*, PUT SOME CLOTHES ON!"  
"Shut up, Zazu," Eagle growled as he took the steps two at a time. "I have a shirt with me." He looked at Lantis, whose eyes were lowered more than usual. What's he looking a-Oh my *GOD*, is he checking me out?!?!" Lantis was indeed looking at Eagle's shirtless state, and the look in his eyes made it obvious he had more than curiousity about the situation on his mind. Suddenly, he seemed to notice both what he was doing and the fact that *Eagle* had noticed what he was doing. His head snapped up and his eyes widened with shock, staring momentarily at Eagle. When Eagle smiled brightly at him, Lantis averted his eyes, a blush spreading up his face faster than Eagle could manage to trip and fall.   
"You've got clothes?" Geo asked. He sighed in over-exagerrated happiness. "Thank God!"  
"Shut up, Geo," Eagle snapped. "I grabbed one of my shirts that Tori stole from me." He quickly pulled the black shirt over his head. "That's funny, it feels tighter than usual...a *lot* tighter. You think maybe it shrunk?" Eagle slowly realized that his friends were in hysterics. Even *Lantis* was laughing. "What?!" he asked, slowly noticing that strange, nervous feeling that he usually only felt when his pants were unzipped while he was in the middle of his debate speech and everyone knew it but him. He looked down at his shirt. "OH MY *GOD*!!!!!"   
This shirt was *definately* not his. It *was* black, but it was much shorter than his was, and skin-tight. Across the front, the words "Sex Kitten," were inked in red. Lantis, Geo and Zazu were now howling with laughter as other students began to take notice.  
"SHIT! GUYS! WHATAMIGOINGTODOOOOOOOOOO?!?!?!?!??!?!" Eagle grabbed Geo by the collar, shaking him frantically and jumping up and down. Geo laughed, gently removing Eagle from his collar.  
"I don't know, Eagle. I guess you're going to have to deal with it." The bell rang for class and Geo, Lantis and Zazu began heading in. Eagle stared after his friends for a moment before running to join them.  
"DEAL WITH IT?! I CAN'T *DEAL* WITH IT! MY SHIRT SAYS 'SEX KITTEN' ON IT! I LOOK LIKE A FREAKING TRANSVESTITE HOOKER!" It was only then that Eagle realized how loud he was. Again. Slowly turning to look around him, he saw every student and faculty member in the hallway staring at him. He could feel his face turning bright red. Turning back around, he dropped his head against Lantis' chest with a light thud, burrowing into the taller boy's shirt. "I wanna go home," he whimpered.  
Blushing bright red, Lantis put his arms gingerly around Eagle's slim shoulders. "It's okay, Eagle. No one's gonna care. Anyone who makes fun of you and truly means it isn't really your friend, and you don't have to care what they think."  
Eagle looked up at Lantis, smiling gratefully. "Thanks, Lantis." The ebony-haired boy blushed furiously. "We better get to class," Eagle said, not wanting to let go of Lantis. He pulled away reluctantly, shouldering his backpack again. As the boys began walking to class, the comments began.  
"Whoo hoo, *hottie*!"  
"Rowr! Sex kitten!"  
"Hey, Eagle, you open for business?"  
Eagle whimpered again. When they turned the corner, a group of girls caught sight of Eagle in the shirt and let out excited shrieks. A girl with curly brown hair passed out from a nosebleed. Geo grinned at Eagle.  
"See, Eagle?" he said as the girl came out of her unconcious stupor, "I guess there are some perks to the shirt."  
"Yes," Eagle responded, grinning. "Maybe I should get some leather pants to go with it." At the leather pants comment, the girl passed out once again. Geo shook his head, grinning.  
"Come on, Sex kitten. Let's get to class."  
  
~*~  
  
The bell rang for last period, and Lantis bolted out the door after Eagle, who had quickly made his escape. "Hey, Eagle!" Lantis jogged out the doors of the school towards his friend. Eagle turned around. When he saw who was calling him, his face softened into that oh-so-familiar smile.   
"Hi, Lantis! What's up?"  
"Well, I was going to go see Ferio and the others, and I wanted to know if you wanted to come."  
"I'd love to!" Eagle replied cheerfully. "That is, if you're sure you'd want me to," he ammended hastily.  
"Definately!"  
"Great!" Eagle laughed evily. "I'm driving!"  
"Oh kami-sama," Lantis groaned as he slid into Eagle's car, making sure his seatbelt was tight as could be, "What am I getting myself into?"  
The cd began playing, the loud scream of Ozzie Osbourne cutting through the air. "ALL ABOOOOAAARD!" Eagle laughed mainiacly, gunning the car and tearing out of the parking lot, wind whipping through his hair as he began singing loudly along with "Crazy Train."  
  
~*~  
  
"Where *is* he?!" Lafarga demanded impatienly. Clef sighed.  
"I'm sure he'll be here shortly, Lafarga!"  
"Yeah, calm down, sweetie," Caldina admonished him, swatting his arm gently. The tall blond's face softened as he looked at his girlfriend.  
"Sorry, Cal. I just...I don't like him leaving Cephiro High and then just expecting to take up where he left off as if nothing happened."  
"I'm glad he's back," she responded, "I think he's sweet."  
Lafarga's eyes flashed in mock jealousy. "Sweeter than me?"  
She laughed. "Aw, you're not sweet!"  
"No?" Lafarga shot back, grinning. "Then what *am* I?"   
"You? You're an animal!" Caldina teased.  
Ferio sighed, looking out the window. Outside the fast food restuarant, the rain poured down, soaking the people outside and pounding on the cars. A silver Rayearth pulled into the parking lot at top speed and turned haphazardly into the nearest parking space.  
"Wow," Ferio said absentmindedly. "Wish *I* had a car like that!"   
"Very snazz," Clef agreed, loudly slurping the last of his soda through a straw.  
"It's not so impressive," Umi said, looking at it skeptically. Being rich herself, not much could impress Umi. From where he was seated next to Umi, Ascot turned and peered out the window.  
"Hey, isn't that the car that rich kid owned? You know, Lantis' new friend, the klutzy one who beat Umi?" Umi glowered and Ascot turned bright red and sweatdropped.  
Ferio looked closer. "Now that you mention it..." At that moment, the passenger side door opened and Lantis stepped out. "Here he is!" Ferio cried, excitement in his voice as he bounced childishly up and down in his seat. Then, the aforementioned "rich kid" slid gracefully out of the other side of the car with none of his usual klutziness. As opposed to the casualness of Lantis' jeans and varisty jacket, Eagle was dressed to the nines in what was obviously, for *him*, "casual wear": crisply pressed khaki pants and a white button-down shirt completely undone, exposing his wife beater. Laughing loudly, the two entered the restaurant.  
"Hey, guys!" Lantis said, eyes sparkling still with the laughter from a moment before.  
"What's *he* doing here?" Lafarga growled under his breath as he stared at Eagle.  
"My sentiments exactly!" Umi added, folding her arms across her chest and glaring. Lantis slid easily into the booth across from Ascot and next to Clef.  
Eagle stood near the table, staring down at the unfamiliar faces, which were all staring back at him. He smiled broadly. "Hi."   
"Hello again, Eagle," Clef smiled back. "Won't you join us?"  
"I'd love to!" Eagle slid easily into the booth, right across from Umi and Hikaru. Eagle smiled. Umi glowered.  
"Hi, Eagle!" Hikaru grinned at him. "It's nice to see you again!"  
"It's so nice to see *you* again, Miss Hikaru Shidou!" Eagle laughed. "How have you been?"  
"Oh, I've been fine! I'm so happy you came *too*! I wanted to see you and Lantis again so very much!"  
"I'm glad to hear it! I wanted to see you again, too!"  
"Really?!"  
"Really really!"  
"Wow!"  
Lafarga rolled his eyes. "Geez, don't get too close, you'll go into sugar shock," he muttered. "OW!" The last part came when Caldina kicked him discreetly under the table. "So, where's the *rest* of the posse, hmmm?"   
Eagle turned to look at Lafarga, still smiling from his exchange with Hikaru. "Hmmm?"  
"What?" Lafarga mocked.   
Eagle stared, confused. "*What*?" he asked. Lafarga rolled his eyes again, laughing softly in disbelief at Eagle's obvious confusion. Eagle stared at him for a moment before it seemed to hit him.  
"OHHHHHHHH, you mean Geo and Zazu! Oh, they're probably off killing each other somewhere."  
"Nice." Lafarga scoffed. Eagle gave him a weird look, nudging Lantis with a look in his eyes that clearly said 'what's up with *this* guy?'  
"So-" Eagle began, turning back to Hikaru.  
"-So what's with the outfit, Eagle?" Lafarga interrupted. Caldina attempted to shush him, but Eagle turned, looking confused again.  
"What do you mean?" he asked, looking down at his clothing.  
"Why are you so dressed up?"  
Eagle was obviously lost. "...dressed...up?"   
"Well, it just doesn't seem to fit in here," Lafarga continued, indicating the fast food restaurant around them. The unspoken message was obvious: You don't belong here. The whole table was silent. Eagle seemed to understand now that Lafarga was making fun of him. "I..." he looked down at the table. "I...I just..." He stood up. "I'm sorry." Turning, he began walking briskly towards the exit, obviously upset, bumping into a bus boy and knocking him slightly askew.  
"Hey, watch it pal!" the bus boy yelled after him. Eagle simply walked on, straight out the door and to his car, but he didn't get in. He pushed himself up onto the hood and sat in the rain; back hunched and staring at the ground, he cut a very forlorn figure.  
The table was silent. Lantis stared out the window.  
"Well, thank you, *Lafarga*!" he said finally, voice angry. "I better go."  
"No!" Hikaru jumped up. "I'll go get him. We don't want you to leave yet, Lantis. I'll bring him back in." With that, she turned and ran out the door, crimson braid flying behind her as she went.  
  
~*~  
  
Eagle stared at the rain as it made patterns in a shallow puddle. Long strands of silver-blond hair, soft and shining as wet silk, fell into his eyes obscuring all vision but what was straight downwards. If he let the tears well up in his eyes, everything blurred, painting a picture. Like the silky grey a mirror would be, he thought, if there were nothing to reflect in it.  
"Hey."   
Eagle jumped at the sound of the soft voice behind him. Turning, he saw Hikaru. He turned away again, pulling up his knees and folding his arms across them. "Hey."  
The red-haired girl came to stand next to the car. "Mind if I join you?" Eagle shook his head, chin resting on his arms. Hikaru gently climbed up on the car next to him. "You sure do have a nice car."  
"Yeah?" Eagle let out a bitter laugh. "All it does is confirm everything that guy Lafarga was insinuating. I'm just a spoiled little rich kid. I cry and get whatever I want."  
"That's not the way I see you." Hikaru interrupted. "At all." Eagle glanced at her and then turned away, concentrating on the rain again. "Do you know what I see, Eagle? I see one of the nicest, most interesting people I've ever known."  
"You don't know me." He said, voice monotonic.  
"Yes I do!" she insisted. "I see the way you act with people. That's enough. The way you always seem to know and understand what a person is feeling like...how nice you were to Lantis at the fencing match, and to all his friends, even though they were rude and unwelcoming." Eagle slowly turned and looked at her, a hopeful look in his eyes, as if he desperately wanted reassurance, *needed* it. "And I can see immediatly that you're interesting." she continued. "You've got this bubbly personality, Eagle, it just keeps brimming over so that it can't be concealed! You can be such a klutz, and then move with such grace when you're fencing, or when sliding out of a car or sitting down at a table. You have this savoir faire that just exudes from your every movement...except when you're tripping or falling down, of course!" Eagle couldn't help but laugh with her. "Don't ever let anyone tell you you're something you're not, Eagle." she said softly. Eagle smiled slightly. "Thank you."  
Hikaru smiled back. "No problem. Now," she continued, "what do you say we go have some food?"  
Smiling slightly, Eagle reached out and brushed the soaking wet tendrils of red hair out of Hikaru's eyes. "Sure thing." Sliding off the car, he bowed and offered her his hand. Giggling, she accepted, sliding off the hood and taking his arm as he offered it. Eagle tried to hold back a smile as he adopted an air of false snobbery, trying to make Hikaru laugh. It worked. The sight of skinny Eagle with his nose in the air trying to look cool and failing (due to the fact that he was soaking wet, hair driping in his eyes) was too much for Hikaru to take. She burst out laughing.  
"Oh, think I'm funny, *do* you?!" Eagle growled in mock anger. Without warning, he grabbed Hikaru around the waist and hoisted her, shrieking, into the air before dumping her uncerimoniously over his shoulder.  
"AHHH! Eagle! Put me down!" she cried, laughing and gently banging her fists against his shoulder. Eagle's only response was to laugh maniacly and continue inside, Hikaru kicking and laughing the whole way.  
  
  
~end of part 9~  
  
  
A/N: Heheheheh....Eagle in leather pants and a skin-tight T w/ the words "sex kitten" on it? Rowr. Heheh. In case anyone was wondering, the curly-haired girl who kept passing out was supposed to be me. Lol, yay. I hope that if I'm ever in a situation like that, I won't be passed out so long that he'll escape. I want to be able to jump him. Muahahahaha. Yeah, anyway, they're starting to fall for each other. Awwww...so cute. *singing* CAAAAAAAAAN YOU FEEEEEEEEEL THE LOOOOOOOOOVE TONIIIIIIIIIIGHT? *stops* Okay, enough of that. I just loooooove Eagle/Lantis shonen-ai sooooooooo much! MKR is the first anime I ever saw (thank you *MARCY*!) and I was in love w/ Eagle instantly, and he and Lantis are just so cuuuuuute! *goes mad w/ squeals* Okay, stopping now. I mean, as much as I like Hikaru (I've been compared to her only too often), she just can't have Lantis. LANTIS BELONGS TO EAGLE AND EAGLE ALONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Well, in anime. Otherwise, he's Marcy's (lol). Still, that's the first shonen-ai I ever saw in anime, and now I'm obsessed. None of my friends ever liked shonen-ai, until *I* got them obessed. MUAHAHAHAHA! I remember telling Marcy about how Zagato and Innova obviously had something going on, and she refused to believe it. She actually thought it was gross. Now she agrees, and loves it, lol. YAY! SHONEN-AI FOREVAH! Okay, I'm sounding totally teeny-bopper. Not that there's anything *wrong* with teenyboppers...it's just not me. Sorry, I've been studying Trig *all* *day*, and I'm so *DAMN* SICK OF IT!!!!!!!! I HATE *MATH*!!!!! Oh well, almost done. Must leave now..no more to type, and I'm rambling. Sayonara!  
  
Thanks to:  
  
MARCY!!! (what a surprise, right? Yeah, sure it is.) For introducing me to anime, and Eagle and Lantis and all the PRETTY shonen-ai!  
  
Rachel (aka Quillow here @ ff.net) Just for being there for me all the time and putting up with me and all my random bullshit. Love yay! === (heheh....supposed to be "love ya" but it's another random typo from another random moron {being me...again.}) 


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